SA club takes hard line on Khuda
South African outfit Polokwane City has written its wayward Malawian forward Khuda Muyaba informing him that he will not be paid for absconding work.
Muyaba has had a stormy relationship with the Polokwane-based side since joining them last season from Silver Strikers FC.
In a letter dated October 29 and signed by the club’s chief operations officer Tincy Tema, Polokwane have instructed Muyaba to report for duties on Monday morning ahead of the 2020/21 season kick off.
Reads part of the letter, which Weekend Nation has seen: “The club has been in pre-season training since October 2 2020. You were informed of the commencement of the pre-season training and instructed to report for duty via SMS on October 7 after you failed to report for duty without leave or authorisation from the club.
“The club has sent you various SMS messages instructing you to report for duty, but you have failed and/or refused to obey these instructions and you continue to fail and/or refuse to obey these instructions.”
It further states that Clause 16.2 of the employment contract between him and the club provides that “if the footballer refuses to attend work, training or match, the principle of ‘no work, no pay’ will apply apart from other sanctions that the club may be entitled to apply”.
“If the footballer is in contract and does not attend work or should he express an unwillingness to play for the club, he shall not be entitled to remuneration or a clearance certificate unless and until he undertakes to comply with all his obligations to the club,” it further reads.
It says Muyaba’s conduct amounts to a refusal to attend work and an unwillingness to play for the club as envisaged in Clause 16.2.
“Consequently the club has and hereby informs you that it has decided to invoke provisions of Clause 16.2 of the contract between you and the club. Therefore, the principle of ‘no work, no pay’ shall apply until you report for duty as instructed by the club and in compliance with your obligations in terms of the employment contract.”
Muyaba’s agent Stevie Madeira yesterday confirmed getting a copy of the letter from his client.
He said: “He [Khuda] sent me the letter yesterday [Thursday] and we have responded to it. They are instructing the player to return on Monday which is not possible as he only received the letter yesterday while he was in Mzuzu.
“So, he will only return on Tuesday or Wednesday. He is committed to return and play for Polokwane, but he has some concerns that need to be addressed by the club. For instance, he has not been paid his signing-on fee up to now and he was not given a copy of his contract. So, he has genuine concerns that need to be addressed.”
Muyaba has only featured for five minutes since joining the club alongside former Be Forward Wanderers defender Dennis Chembezi. Polokwane were relegated from the Premier Soccer League last season after finishing bottom of the table.
